


Let Me Hold Your Heart (I’ll Keep It Warm)

by MoonlightOracle



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: And Then Some, Avengers Family, BAMF Peter Parker, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bullying, Cinnamon Roll Peter Parker, Comfort, Domestic Avengers, Flash Thompson Being A Jerk, Flirting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Identity Reveal, Intern Peter Parker, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Peter Wears Bucky’s Clothes, Precious Peter Parker, Secret Identity, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, winterspider
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2020-11-07 17:10:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20820857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightOracle/pseuds/MoonlightOracle
Summary: “Are you guys seeing this right now?” Clint whispered and everyone turned around, eyes settling on the scene in front of them.On the sofa, Peter’s head was resting comfortably on Bucky’s lap with his knees propped up, animatedly talking to the super soldier about his day. Bucky hummed along while casually threading his fingers through Peter’s fluffy hair, a sickeningly fond smile on his lips. The Avengers groaned simultaneously.These two wereidiots.(AKA, brooding ex-assassin and adorably awkward teen are in love and everyone can see it except for them.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Peter is 17 and technically that’s the legal age of consent in NY but it still classifies as ‘underage’ in AO3 terms so *shrugs* 
> 
> But these two are so so cute I couldn’t help myself :((( uWu

Peter had his head down, his soft brown curls flopping over his forehead as he worked away on his web-shooters, music echoing in the background. Mr. Stark had gone off somewhere a few minutes ago, so Peter took the opportunity to quickly fix them up, and restock his web fluid.

How he broke them in the first place is a long story. But if he had to explain himself, well- let’s just say that a certain weapons dealer wasn’t a very happy bunny when Peter intercepted his little midnight meeting. The man had open fired; and Peter managed to dodge all the bullets however when he jumped off the side of the building, he wasn’t quick enough to realise that one of his buddies were hiding in the shadows. His web got cut, and to avoid becoming a spider splattered on the sidewalk he had to shoot another web to hoist himself up… into a brick wall. 

So, yes. Peter had face-planted into the side of the building, damaging his web-shooters in the process. Not his proudest moment. But hey, at least he didn’t make a spectacle of himself by transforming into meat paste. He just hopes that no one was around to record it, because the last thing Peter wants is another video added to the famous ‘Spidey Fails’ compilation on youtube.

Just as he was about to test the spinnerets, Peter’s senses prickled and he whisked his head around, shoving the web-shooters under the table while doing so. Peter looked ahead, expecting to see Tony… only, it wasn’t Tony who had walked into the lab. 

It was the goddamn Winter Soldier.

Who was staring at him. 

Oh, shit. 

They gazed at each other for a hot minute, and Peter felt as if all the energy had been sucked out of the room. He gulped nervously, blinking his eyes. 

Peter has been Tony Stark’s personal intern for a few months now, and he’d yet to see the rest of the Avengers- which, is pretty impressive actually. He never thought he’d be able to avoid them for this long, but considering his position, a meeting was bound to happen at some point. 

The man is quite tall, almost looming over Peter with his muscular physique. He seems freshly shaven, with wavy brown hair that barely skims the top of his broad shoulders, and Peter is definitely picking up some... weird vibes. The boy didn’t expect the Winter Soldier to be so… he can’t word it. Sort of like a Greek God in the flesh? Even more handsome in person than he looked in photos and videos?

He’s heard a lot about him in particular, from a few conversations around the Tower (which he unintentionally eavesdropped on, stupid enhanced hearing). How after he had safely recovered in Wakanda and, with the aid of Tony’s Retro Framing tech, got the last of Hydra’s programming removed. All the information that was revealed to the public regarding him was that he was no longer a threat, and instead a hero that should be integrated back into society. Any misunderstandings against him were cleared up, too. After a long and lengthy discussion with multiple different higher-ups, they approved of Barnes’ decision to join the Avengers Initiative, and so before long he had made a place for himself within the super secret boy band, under the code name ‘White Wolf’.

His metal arm almost has this pretty iridescent sheen to it as it shimmered underneath the fluorescent lab lights, a halo reflected into the steel blue eyes that were still staring at him wonderingly from across the room. The man was wearing comfy black sweats, that didn’t do anything at all to hide the glorious outline of his muscular thighs and the neckline of his grey t-shirt was just low enough for Peter to peek at his prominent collarbones. 

Okay, wow. Peter always knew that he might be into guys, but this—this just confirmed it. Definitely the icing on the cake. Great job, Peter, way to go. He’s sure the 90-something-year-old war veteran would absolutely _ love _ to have a random teenage boy eye-fucking him. Lovely. 

Peter rubbed his nose with his sleeve, forgetting that he had stained it in motor oil earlier—so he’d accidentally smudged the substance all over his face. The older man’s previously blank expression changed, and suddenly his lips quirked up into a smile so minuscule you’d fail to realise it was even there.

“You got a little somethin’ right there.” The man spoke up with a light Brooklyn lilt, _that had no right to be as attractive as it was_, and pointed to his nose, and Peter tilted his head to the side adorably, cheeks blushing upon realising what he meant. 

“O-oh!” Peter tried to rub the stain off, but completely missed. Instead, he just made it worse. 

Bucky couldn’t help himself, and let out a noise that sounded extremely familiar to a snort. God, he’d never seen this boy before, but he was so cute. His hair was a messy waterfall of fluffy curls, with tinted rosy cheeks and bambi-like eyes, and he reminded Bucky of an innocent puppy. Or a kitten, even.

Seeing Bucky still standing there while he scrubbed away at his face, Peter pouted, thinking that he’s most definitely making a fool of himself and screwing up his first impression. Dammit Parker, just his luck. 

Bucky could no longer just watch. “Need some help?” he asked, and Peter swore that his voice was tinged in amusement. 

Giving up, Peter flopped his arms back down into his lap, looking up at the older man pathetically. “...Please?” 

The super soldier walked closer and picked up some tissues from the cluttered table, sitting down in the empty seat across from the boy, bringing his hand up to Peter’s face. Peter sat very still, blushing as Bucky gently wiped away the grime. Once he was done, the older man threw the dirty tissue into the bin behind him without looking and he remained sitting in the seat, which Peter only now realised was very close to him. 

Peter felt lightheaded.  
  
  


“...Um. Hi.” He said, awkwardly, immediately wanting to facepalm. “I’m, I’m Peter. Peter Parker. Ah, I’m Mr. Stark’s personal intern, if you’re wondering why I’m here.” 

Bucky actually smiled, properly this time, leaning his flesh arm against the table. “Hi there, Peter. I’m James Barnes.”

  
He held out his hand, and Peter tentatively shook it, the warmth of the Bucky’s palm still lingering on his skin as he pulled away.   
  


Peter gulped nervously, eyes flickering back and forth from Bucky's eyes and the floor. Dammit, why was he so flustered? “It’s… n-nice to meet you…thank you for helping me.” He laughed, scratching the back of his head. This was so embarrassing. 

“Good to meet ya’ too. And it was no problem.”

There’s a tense silence, and Peter almost forgot how to breathe. 

“So, uhhh… why are you here?” Peter asked, then quickly tried to explain himself, “N-not that you shouldn’t be, or anything, because you are totally allowed to be here, but I was only just wondering-”

“Easy there, doll,” Bucky- no, James said, and Peter felt his cheeks burning. “I was just looking for Stark. Any idea where he’s run off to?” 

“Umm, I think he mentioned something about a meeting?” 

“Oh…” James glanced off to the side, seemingly thinking about something. But then, he stood up, sighing. “I’ll come back later, then. Thanks, Peter.” James turned around to leave, but not before quickly ruffling Peter’s hair. 

The doors to the lab closed up as James’ figure disappeared behind them, and Peter nearly choked on his breath. Well. The man was definitely not what he expected, if he expected anything at all. And...

...Did he just ruffle his hair? 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An update?????¿¿¿ 
> 
> It’s a goddamn miracle

As soon as the doors closed behind him, Bucky stood quietly in the hallway, a confused expression on his face. 

...

Did he just-?

...

He did, didn’t he. 

Bucky sucked in a sharp breath, scolding himself internally. His hand moved on its own before he even realised it- all he could think about was  _ ‘I want to touch his hair’ _ , and  _ ‘does it feel as soft as it looks?’  _

And god, yes. Yes, it does. 

But after his curiosity was fulfilled, he’s now left wondering how the hell he got so stupid, since now he’s pretty sure he’s gone and scared off the poor boy with his… over friendliness?

Yeah, he never thought he’d say that, ever. Usually it’s the opposite, and he frightens people away with his typical scowl and the ‘talk to me and you die’ look in his eyes. He’s attempting to be approachable, because apparently everyone in the Tower is sick and tired of the brooding lone wolf thing he’s got going for himself. 

It’s not like he’s doing it on purpose. Bucky is honestly trying to be better, and he’s been making actual progress the past few weeks, believe it or not. He’s more involved with the team, speaking up in some places, so there’s credit due there. It’s not  _ his  _ fault that he has what Shuri calls a ‘permanent resting bitch face’. 

He’s well aware of his standoffish and distant nature he’s built up all these years, and that’s not something that’s going to go away so easily. He can’t just go back to what he used to be like before… before everything happened, if he even remembers who that was to begin with. 

Bucky wanted to see Tony to check up on when he’d need maintenance on the arm, and when he had walked into the lab expecting to see the mechanic, he instead saw a boy with the most innocent look on his face and the cutest blush. 

At first, Bucky was puzzled, because  _ why the hell is there a random teenager in Stark’s lab? _ Usually Bucky would be wary, it’s like his constant state of being at this point-  _ paranoia- _ but upon realising that the boy was just that, completely unarmed, low level of threat, the soldier eased up somewhat. 

Apparently, Peter turned out to be Tony’s personal intern, and huh, Bucky didn’t know he even had one. For how long had the kid gone unnoticed by them? He must not venture down to other floors often, if they hadn’t bumped into him even once. 

For some reason, the moment he saw Peter, Bucky really, really didn’t want to scare him. He thought the kid would be afraid initially, like everyone usually is, but… strangely enough, he wasn’t, and that in itself was more than disorientating. 

Even though Bucky had been cleared, there’s still always an air of slight hesitancy and caution people have whenever he’s around. The tense body language, the flittering eyes watching him like a hawk. No one is ever truly at ease, as though a sudden flick of a switch could have him on terminator mode again. 

He doesn’t blame them. 

And yet Peter, someone who surely has access to the internet, who knows about most of the things Bucky has done, didn’t look afraid. Why was that? 

He was skittish, in a way that showed his personality was shy, but there was a certain way in which he held himself that was most noticeable, at least to Bucky.

Ease. Assurance. 

Of what, though? Was the kid naive and believed that Bucky wouldn’t hurt him? Which of course, he wouldn’t. 

...It was weird. There was no other way to describe it. Bucky had never met someone like Peter before. 

Although, what was more interesting… 

Bucky thought back to the object the teen mysteriously shoved underneath the table when he first came into the room. Peter might have been fast, but it wasn’t fast enough to miss Bucky’s eyes. 

He remembers back to when he sat across from Peter, eyes subtly glimpsing at a large box underneath the desk, seeing a sleek looking red and blue wristband on top of all the miscellaneous objects in the box. 

Hm. 

With a long sigh, Bucky made his way to the lounge, seeing Clint eating what appears to be a familiar looking ball of cookie dough, the very same one he had left in the fridge to bake later. 

Bucky, with the signature scowl on his face, stared pointedly at him with his arms crossed. 

Clint gulped, sitting upwards stiffly from his previous slouching position. His eyes met Barnes’ unreadable ones, and he couldn’t contain a shiver. 

“Umm… so, funny thing, I was hungry and I got a little impatient?” Clint said sheepishly. 

Bucky said nothing in return, only tapping his finger against his bicep. 

“Oh come on, Barnes, you know your cookies are the real deal. When will you spill your secret recipe?” Clint pouted, sprawling himself out on the sofa after shoving the last bite of cookie dough unceremoniously into his mouth, in case Bucky would snatch it away. 

Bucky shook his head with an amused huff. “In your dreams, Barton. How many did you eat?” 

“Just one.” he replied quickly. “Or two. ...Maybe three?” 

Noticing the way Bucky’s eyes darken, and very much not wanting to die, Clint immediately rushed to his feet, “I’m gonna go see Nat and Steve in the training room now, bye!” 

Seeing the cookie dough thief run away guiltily, Bucky entered the kitchen, seeing the oven was preheated nicely. He’s not letting Clint eat any baked cookies later since he’d already gorged himself. Hmmm… does Peter like chocolate chip cookies, by any chance? 

“Miss FRIDAY, will ya’ let me know when Stark is free?” 

**“Of course, Mr. Barnes.”**

“Thanks a bunch, doll.” 

*****

When Bucky had left, Peter spun his chair to the other side of the lab, hastily grabbing hold of his phone that was perched on the edge of a table.

_ Group Chat>>>Peter Parker Protection Program _

Members:  _ President of the Company _ (MJ),  _ Guy in the Chair _ (Nedward),  _ Do Not Leave Unsupervised _ (Spiderboy)

** _Do Not Leave Unsupervised_ **

SLKSDKSJDKJDKSKLSJ guys guys guys 

** _Guy in the Chair_ **

?? Uh, you good bro?

** _President of the Company_ **

What is it now, nerd? Please don’t tell me you’ve been stabbed again. 

** _Do Not Leave Unsupervised_ **

No MJ I have NOT been stabbed, and no Ned I am NOT okay;; 

I almost went into cardiac arrest

I just met!! Mr Barnes!!

** _Guy in the Chair_ **

OMG DUDE!! 

** _President of the Company_ **

Cool. 

** _Do Not Leave Unsupervised_ **

Ughhhh I was super awkward, I’m cringing so hard at myself rn 

** _President of the Company_ **

Ha, wish I was there to see it in person. 

** _Do Not Leave Unsupervised_ **

:(((

** _Guy in the Chair_ **

what was he like?

** _Do Not Leave Unsupervised _ **

Well we only talked for a few minutes but he was really nice;; he helped me get motor oil off my face, I definitely made myself look like an idiot ffs why do I always give bad first impressions 

Like he’s nothing what the media says he’s like, y’know? All those stories about ppl who’ve had run ins with him around NY say he’s scary but tbh he’s chill. I don’t see what the fuss is about 

** _Guy in the Chair_ **

Ahhh I wanna meet him too, god you’re so lucky Peter, u get to meet all these heroes. You HAVE to figure out a way to get us into the tower some day! 

*****

A loud sigh made Peter perk his head up from his phone, and he saw Tony come into the lab while rubbing his temples.

“You okay there, Mr. Stark?” 

“Yeah kid, just company things, all that jazz. Pepper got a bit annoyed when I wasn't paying as much attention as I was supposed to.” 

Peter hummed, “Oh, by the way, Mr. Barnes was looking for you,” he informed casually, “He left like a couple minutes ago.” 

Tony stopped what he was doing and frowned, staring at Peter. He didn’t say anything for a while, and Peter tilted his head in confusion. What was he thinking about? 

“...Oh. Did he mention why?” 

Peter shook his head, scratching his cheek. “Uhhhh… no. Not really. He just left after realising you weren’t here and said he’d be back later.” 

“Hmmm. I see.” Tony was looking at him oddly. “Wait, hold on a second, let me get this right. He talked to you?” 

Peter was startled by the question, “What? Um, yeah. He did.”

“Like… willingly? You had a proper conversation with him? He initiated it?” 

“Yeeesss… Mr. Stark, I’m not sure I understand-”

“He didn’t give you a glare that says ‘I’ll murder you in your sleep?’” 

“What? No! I don’t think he’s scary at all, Mr. Stark, if that’s what you’re trying to say.” Peter said. 

“Don’t worry about it, kid. I’m just surprised that our resident ex-Hydra assassin managed to converse with someone on the first meeting without the other pissing themselves in fear.” 

“Ah… yeah, I’ve heard about that…” 

Apparently, when James went to Central Park one time, this business man bumped into him and spilt his coffee all over James’ shirt. The business man scolded James and told him to watch where he was going, but then he looked up at who he was talking to, and proceeded to tremble in fear, running away yelling  _ ‘I-I’m so sorry! Please don’t kill me!’ _ with a growing wet patch forming in his pants. The interaction was recorded by a passerby and posted on the internet.

Peter felt a bit sad all of sudden. Poor James… can’t even go outside without someone recognising him and still thinking that he’s some demon, when he’s not. He must be lonely… He doesn’t deserve that at all. 

“...but really, Mr. Stark, Mr. Barnes was nice.” 

Tony snorts, “Never thought I’d hear that come from someone’s mouth. You sure we’re talking about the same person? But anyway, he can be a bit… well, you know, never mind. As long as you’re okay, kiddo.” 

Peter got back to his work, having secretly slipped his web shooters back into his pocket. He had set a goal in his mind, a goal to befriend the Winter Soldier. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh feel like my writing skills have really declined lately :( 2020 has been a bitch so I’m sorry for the lack of updates


End file.
